


Veritaserum Exposed

by rosetyler_i



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Brief Alcohol Mention, F/M, I wrote this in 2015 and decided to update it cuz of the quarentine, Romance, crossposted on ffn, dramione - Freeform, hermione is an auror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23320291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosetyler_i/pseuds/rosetyler_i
Summary: Draco is joining the Auror office but since he's a convicted Death Eater, he has to be questioned using Veritaserum by Hermione Granger. The questions start off as protocol before Draco reveals secrets that no one would've ever guessed.“I’ve only hated the ‘what ifs.’ What if you were sorted into Slytherin? What if you were on my side?  What if... What if you loved me the way I love you?”
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	1. Hermione

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this back in 2015 my dudes so it’s about quarentime to finish it up I guess. I was probably trying to make it all slow burn and such but I think I’ll just try to finish it up in about 5 or 6 chapters. 5 years is slow enough burn for me tbh.

I couldn’t believe that they chose _me_ to be the interviewer. I’ve never been all that good at asking people questions in general. Also, using Veritaserum, who knows what I would learn, especially from the ‘great’ Draco Malfoy. 

“Hurry, Hermione,” I heard the head Auror say.

“Coming,” I called back. I had to gather up all the sheets of questions I would have to ask. Curious as to what they were, I started reading a little as I was walking.

 _Did you choose to become a Death Eater?_ Sounds like a reasonable question. I skipped over a few. _What was the Dark Lord’s favorite thing to do?_ Okay, really? Why was this question even put on here?

“We’re here,” said Shacklebolt in front of a door. “Before you go in, I have to brief you on everything that’ll be going on. He might try to resist the potion and if you sense that he is, call another Auror for backup using a Patronus. Also, if he tries to attack you, feel free to use any spell you feel you need to. You also must stick to the questions on the parchment in your hands. After the interview, since no one else is with you, I will use Legilimency. I will not go into any memories but this interview. You may use Occlumency to block me from personal memories but if I sense you are blocking out a part of the interview, I will not hesitate to suspect you as an accomplice in something that might not even be real. Is this clear?”

I started panicking. I wasn’t planning on doing that anyway. “Yes, sir.”

“Alright. You may go inside now. Good luck,” he said as he opened the door and practically pushing me inside. I was still facing the door when I heard a drawling voice from behind me.

“Well hello, Granger. Glad you could come.”

I turned sharply towards the voice. “Malfoy.” I glared at him. I had to admit, he looked nice. I mean, every girl at Hogwarts knew that he was a very attractive man, though many, myself included, would never admit to it aloud. 

He rolled his eyes. “Is that the only word in your vocabulary? I mean, even for a muggle-born child, I thought you knew better,” he clicked his tongue very patronizingly. I took careful notice to the way he didn’t call me a mudblood. “Anyway, why don’t we just get started with this and then we can all go home, shall we?”

How could he be so calm all the time? Oh, how I wanted to punch him again. “Sounds good, Malfoy.”

He rolled his eyes once again and said with a smirk, “Yes, I know my last name. Can’t we just get on with this?”

I gave him my best death glare. I knew that I couldn’t say anything off of protocol, so I bit my tongue. I took out the vial Shacklebolt had given me and handed it to him. 

“Please drink this, _sir_ ,” I hated having to call him that. “It’s Veritaserum. You have to drink it. We have to make sure you are being truthful.”

He sighed. “I can’t believe the things I have to do to make you all trust me,” I heard him mutter. Obviously this was something that was bugging him. I walked away and sat on the other side of the table as he drank.

“All ready?” I asked.

“Yes, I think so.”

“Alright,” I looked down at the parchment on the table and read the first question. “Were you, in fact, a Death Eater?”

He looked at me incredulously. “Really? That’s actually a question on that thing?”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Yes, now please, just answer the question.”

He responded by lifting the sleeve on his left arm revealing his Dark Mark tattoo. Just seeing it gave me shivers up and down my spine. He sensed my reaction and quickly covered it. “Yes, unfortunately I was.”

I nodded and proceeded to the next question. “Did you want to be a Death Eater?”

He hesitated for a moment. “I did at the time.”

“Did you have a choice?”

Again, he hesitated. I got the feeling he was uncomfortable answering these questions. “Not really. Though, like I said, at the time, I had wanted to.”

I really wanted to ask him why he had wanted to but I had to stick the bloody sheet.

“Have you killed anyone, wizard or muggle?”

He looked at his hands on the table. “Unfortunately, I was ordered to. It was not a thing I had wanted to do. Ever. After the first muggle, I wasn’t told to do so, with the exception of Dumbledore. Not a fun experience.”

He seemed sincere and I wanted to reach out and touch his arm or something. But, once again, the bloody _protocol_ kept me from it. “Have you ever used an Unforgivable Curse on any one, wizard or muggle?”

Again, he studied his hands, “Once again, I was ordered to. The only reason for it was to keep my mother alive.”

“Your mother...” I pondered aloud before I could stop myself. I immediately clamped a hand over my mouth. “Disregard that. Please disregard that. I shouldn’t be talking out of turn.”

He smirked at me. It wasn’t as menacing as I had remembered it to be. He was probably still uncomfortable about the last question. “I had actually wanted to die myself. I seriously thought about killing myself on a regular basis. But if I failed, or if I had gotten killed, my entire family would be punished.”

My curiosity had me carried away. I mean, these questions weren’t personal. I mean, they weren’t related to me, anyway. It also helped us know more, so it couldn’t be all that bad, right? "Still... Not your father, then."

He sneered. “I don’t give a rat’s arse about my father. He was horrible, ruthless, and a complete...” he stopped, seemingly not able to find a good word for him. “A complete and utter... Hypocrite?”

I looked at him and silently pleaded that he would look up and meet my eyes. He didn’t. “He couldn’t’ve been that bad...” My voice trailed off when I realized who I was talking about. Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater, current resident of Azkaban, and a man that was intent on killing not only me, but millions of other innocent Muggle-borns. He really was _that_ bad.

Draco smirked at me and I heard a dark chuckle. “Really, Granger? He literally tried to kill you almost every chance he got. If Pothead and the Weasel weren’t with you most of the time, you probably would’ve been killed by him. And I’m right glad they were.”

I saw how he slightly cursed himself for saying the last part and I wanted to ask more. Unfortunately, I had a job to do. I sighed. “Moving right along, then?”

He nodded and I continued asking the questions until all of them were answered. When we were done, we had about fifteen minutes left in our time. We sat in silence for a while before he spoke up. “So, how are they? Last I remember you and Weaselbee had a thing going.”

I didn’t miss the trace of bitterness in his voice. It didn’t make any sense. “Yeah, we did,” I paused regaining my control. I hated crying over him. He wasn’t worth it. “That was before I found out that he and Lavender also had a thing. I broke it off a couple weeks ago.”

He looked down. “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head and managed a smile. “It’s alright, really. I was starting to get annoyed with him anyway,” I lied easily.

“Come on, Granger. Just because I’m the one with the Veriterserum in my system doesn’t mean that you can lie. Besides, I don’t know what he saw in Lavender that he didn’t in you. I mean, you really are beautiful.”

My eyes widened in shock. “But—but I thought you hated me.”

He shook his head trying to stop the truth telling potion from working. It didn’t help though. “I’ve never hated you. I’ve only hated the ‘what ifs.’ I mean, what if you weren’t a muggle-born? What if you were sorted into Slytherin? What if you were on my side? What if you were _my_ best friend and not Potter and Weasley? What if...” he paused. “What if you loved me the way I love you?”

I was in shock. My mouth hung agape but no sound came out. My eyes were wide but saw nothing. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Draco Malfoy, the boy who had tormented my school days, the boy who had almost killed Dumbledore, the boy who had taken the Dark Mark to save his mother was telling me that he has loved me, and by the look in his eyes, for quite some time.

I gaped at him. I tried my hardest to make a sound, to ask him why, how, when. I had so much that I wanted to know that I couldn’t get the words to form.

He chuckled, seeing my dilema. I then realized that he had given up fighting the potion. “See, in our third year, everything changed. When you... Well, you know... I realized that everything my stupid father had told me about how ‘muggle-borns don’t have it in them to fight back’ wasn’t true. He had told me that you were a waste of space and that you couldn’t do anything to save yourself. I realized that when you punched me—hard, I might add—that you _could_ actually fight. I saw that you weren’t as stupid as my father had told me. 

“After questioning this, I started to question everything else he had told me. And I mean everything. His beliefs, his affiliation with the Dark Lord, they way he treated my mother. After our fifth year, when I was forced to take the Dark Mark, I knew that I didn’t want to be like this anymore. I didn’t want to be my father’s puppet. That’s when I started to change.” He looked up at me and forced me to stare straight back into his eyes. “That’s when I started to love you.”

I gasped. I truthfully, hadn’t expected anything like that to come out of his mouth. I opened my mouth to say something but I had absolutely no idea what to say. I was saved, though, when Shacklebolt walked in.

“I trust this interview went by smoothly?” he smiled and motioned for me to follow him outside. I knew what was waiting for me. He was going to penetrate my mind and find out how I had come across something so personal, so private that even I felt as if I shouldn’t know it.

When Shacklebolt came out, I decided it was best to explain myself before he delved into my mind. “Sir, I have something important to tell you—”

He held his hands up. “I know, Ms. Granger. We saw the whole thing.”

I gaped at him. He was still smiling. Hadn’t I done something wrong? “B-but I don’t understand. Shouldn’t you be angry with me?”

He sighed and made his was to the nearest bench. I sat beside him. “Ms. Granger, I told you about the protocol so that you wouldn’t start asking him questions maliciously. And you didn’t ask him any questions about his personal life. In fact, you didn’t actually ask him any personal questions. Everything he told you was of his own accord. We discovered, as we had originally thought, that his loyalties lie with you, Ms. Granger.”

Looking back on it, I _didn’t_ ask him anything. 

Nothing made any sense anymore. Malfoy was in love with me and everyone at the Ministry thought so too. How had I, self-proclaimed bookworm and the brains of the Golden Trio, missed the fact that Malfoy was in love with me?

Shacklebolt gave a light chuckle at my confused expression. “You should be proud. Your first Auror assignment went by without a hitch. If you would like, you could go back and talk with Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps make an appointment later to mull things over.” He smiled as he got up. “Until next time, Ms. Granger.” And with that, he left. This man strangely reminded me of Dumbledore.

I shook my head out of my reverie and went back into the interview room to talk with Malfoy. This was going to take a lot of explaining on his part.


	2. Hermione

_I have to know. I just have to know. Has he figured out a way around the truth telling potion and decided to mess with my head? If so, how and why would he have done that? Or maybe he just didn’t take the potion? But I saw him take it. I know it was in his system, I could tell._

_Then, is what he said... the truth? What will I do if it is?_

I sighed. There is no way I could get an answer out of him if my mind was cluttered with thoughts. I tried my best to clear away the nagging voices in my head.

After composing myself, I walked inside the interview room to find Malfoy cradling his head in his hands. When he heard the door open, his head snapped up, and we locked eyes.

“Malfoy,” I stammered. I could feel my face going several shades of red, and I forced myself to look away. 

He sighed. “Honestly, Granger. You _can_ call me Draco. It’s not illegal.” 

I managed a light chuckle that sounded more like I was choking. I cleared my throat and took my seat. “Sorry. Uhm, Draco? We need to talk.”

“About?”

I looked up but couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. His shoulder looked safe. It was broad and clad in a white button-up shirt. I almost grazed my eyes down his fore arm but stopped myself to stare at the wall just above.

“You know perfectly well.” My voice wasn’t as angry sounding as I had meant it to be, and I mentally scolded myself. I shouldn’t let him get to me like this.

He moved to meet my gaze and smirked. I quickly pulled my eyes away. _Why is he trying to provoke me?_ “Actually, Granger, I don’t. Would you mind explaining it to me?”

I rolled my eyes. _Why is he playing dumb? Is he just messing with my head?_ My head was swimming with questions about him. The main one being: _Why does he affect me in this way?_

I muttered a different question under my breath, and even I couldn’t hear it.

“Sorry? Didn’t catch that.”

I sighed. I couldn’t let him do this to me. I met his gaze and tried to ignore the strange feeling of nervousness in the pit of my stomach. “Why do you like me?”

He rolled his eyes. “And what makes you think that I do?” 

“But—but you just told me that you did...” Why on earth was he doing this to me? What had I ever done to him? Well, aside from punching him in third year and hexing him a few times at Hogwarts...

“Why would I ever say that?” he smirked but it didn’t meet his eyes. His eyes held something that I had never seen before. At least, in _his_ eyes. It was a mix between nervousness and longing.

I was thoroughly confused. “I don’t know. That’s what I don’t get. You took Veritaserum, so you either found a way around the potion or what you said... wasn’t a lie.”

He thought hard for a moment. “There is also the possibility that I hadn’t even taken the potion, isn’t there? Did you think of that one?”

I shook my head. “No, I ruled that possibility out as soon as it came to me. I clearly remember you drinking the potion, and I have the empty bottle to prove it.” I held up the empty vial to emphasize my point.

He eyed the flask with contempt. “Well, what if I had vanished the contents with my wand?”

I looked at him patronizingly. “The room prevents wandless magic and your wand is still under the possession of the Auror office. Now you’re just being silly.”

He sat for a moment contemplating on his next words while I sat watching in anticipation.

“If I told you that...” he swallowed hard, “...that what I said was the truth, would you even believe me?” he muttered, not meeting my eyes.

“It depends,” I heard myself saying.

His brows furrowed. “On what?”

I looked down in search of an answer to his question. “I’m not sure,” I said truthfully.

He nodded in apparent understanding.

We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while. I was trying to figure out what I actually wanted from him. If he did end up being—being _in love_ with me what _would_ I believe? I mean, he basically tortured me in our Hogwarts years. He had also become a Death Eater and had almost killed Dumbledore. 

Then again, he said that he took the mark just to save his mother. He was also raised to hate me and my blood. And, if I’m not mistaken, those bruises he always had when he came back from school holidays weren’t from playing Quidditch with his father.

“Granger?” Draco’s voice startled me out of my reverie. “Are you alright?”

I merely nodded, my voice failing me. I couldn’t meet his eyes. I couldn’t decipher my feelings at all. Nothing made sense anymore. For once in my life, I had no idea of what to do. 

Being the brains of the Golden Trio, I had always made a plan, a back up plan, and a back up plan for the back up plan. I had no plan for this, and it scared me. I always, _always_ , had a plan. I had no idea how to get through this without making a complete and utter fool of both of us.

I must’ve been contemplating this for a while, because when Draco cleared his throat, I was startled. Wait— _Malfoy_ cleared his throat. Since when was he Draco to me? I rid myself of all thought. 

“Would you mind so much if I went home now?” he asked.

I shook my head. It would be better that way, anyway. “No, you go on ahead. The results from this... this meeting will be owled within the week.” I said mechanically. 

I really just wanted to go home and take a nice, hot bath. I wanted to go home and sleep and free myself of all this. Once I got back to my flat, I would never have to see him again and these thoughts could be pushed to the back of mind—and stay there—for years to come. Nothing would ever come from them and nothing would make them resurface. I would be shot of him.

He nodded and stood. I followed his lead, and we shook hands. “Good day, Grang—”

“Hermione,” I interrupted.

He looked confused. “What?”

“Call me Hermione. It’s only fair.”

He smiled. It looked so much softer on him than his usual smirk. “Good day, then... Hermione.”

I nodded. I watched him walk out and shut the door silently. 

I’m crazy. That’s must be it. He only said my name, my given name. Millions of people had called me by my name before, including my former boyfriend. When Ron said my name, it felt normal; it felt like it did when everyone else called me ‘Hermione’ or ‘Mione.’ Why on earth, then, did I feel faint when he did it?

It must have been the way he said it. He was so... genuine. He said it as though it was an expensive vase; if he didn’t treat it with care, it would break. When he said my name, it felt as though he had wanted to use it the entire time we had been talking. He was so tender, so heart felt. It was so _real_.

The way he said my name put everything he had said in that interview room into perspective: he loved me. He must love me. No one I had ever known had put so much feeling into my name before.

I shook my head trying to process it all. At least after this fiasco, I would be shot of him. His face wouldn’t pop up into my every thought; his scent wouldn’t follow me everywhere I went; his voice wouldn’t interrupt my dreams.

I mean, it wouldn’t... Right?


	3. Draco

“I can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe that happened.”

“I know, mate. You’ve told me that, what, A hundred times?”

I sighed. “I know, Blaise. I know. I just—”

“—can’t believe it happened. I know. Mate, I’m sorry that you did whatever you did, but I’m pretty sure it’ll just blow over in the end.”

I shook my head. He didn’t understand. In any case, I don’t think I could’ve let him know. He still held the same pure-blood mindset that he always had. If he found out that I’ve had a pathetic crush on Hermione Granger; muggle-born, Harry Potter’s best friend, brains of the Golden Trio, Gryffindor princess...

“Blaise, it’s not like that. It’s not that easy. Things are going to be completely different now. And I don’t know how I can fix it.”

“What happened, anyway? And why won’t you tell me?” He asked as he lazily handed me a beer.

“You wouldn’t understand." I replied, taking a swig.

“Of course I wouldn’t.” He rolls his eyes. “Drake, I’ve been your best friend since we were toddlers, I’ve been your best friend throughout our school years, and I’ve been your best friend through your dark years. I think I’ll be able to _understand_ something as minute as I have a feeling this is.”

I sighed. _Might as well..._ “I told Hermione Granger that I’ve had a crush on her since fifth year.”

I don’t know what I expected. I suppose I wanted him to start laughing hysterically, telling me that I had just told a ‘good one,’ or for him to scream at me because I was a blood traitor and ‘how could you do this?’ but nothing came. He just nodded. “So you’ve finally confessed?”

I looked at him skeptically. “What—?”

He chuckled. “I’ve known all about you’re little infatuation. In fact, I knew about it before even you did, I would think.”

My jaw dropped. “What do you mean—?”

“Drakey! Where are you?” a cheerful voice interrupted.

“What do you want, Astoria?” I rolled my eyes.

“Well, I wanted to talk to my little Drakey-poo, of course!” She waltzed into the room barely wearing anything: a pink, frilly tube top, and a pair of underwear—I mean, shorts. To be honest though, they could’ve passed off as underwear.

“Astoria, how many times do I have to say this? I don’t like you; I will never like you, and I would appreciate it if you would leave me alo—” I grunted as she plopped her fat arse on my lap and attempted to stick her tongue down my throat: her customary greeting.

“I think I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” Blaise smirked. _I’m going to kill him_.

“We are not finished with this conversation.” I called out after him.

He flicked his hand as if saying _sure we aren’t_.

“What conversation, honey?”

I rolled my eyes and tried to shove her off. “It’s none of your business.”

She scoffed and moved to sit on the couch next to me. “Of course it is, sweetheart. We’re engaged to be married. I need to know anything and everything that makes up the life and mind of my beloved Drakey-poo.”

I shoved her hands away from pinching my face, and then again as she moved her hands to unbutton my shirt. “Just because our parents arranged a marriage doesn’t mean I am going to follow through with it.”

She pouted, but didn't cease her attempts at disrobing me. “Why are you being so mean? As I recall, you were ecstatic when mummy told you we were getting married.”

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. Why didn’t this girl understand? “She is not your _mummy._ And as _I_ recall, we were nine years old when this was announced. Other than Blaise, you were my only friend. Your family and his were the only people I was allowed _access_ to.”

She pouted again as she moved to kneel in front of me on the floor, her hands forgetting my shirt buttons in favor of my jeans. “Come on, Drakey-poo—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“But—” 

I got in her face, and she cowered under my glare. “Now you listen here, Astoria. And really listen this time. I do not feel anything for you, nor have I ever. And nor will I ever. There has been, is not, and will never be an _us_.”

“But—”

“Let me finish," I said standing up. "We are nothing. We have never been anything. And we never will be anything. You need to find somebody else who will treat you how you deserve to be treated. You deserve to be loved by someone who doesn’t love another.” 

“Love _another_? Excuse me?” She stood up hastily with an angry look in her eyes.

Damnit. I didn't want her to know anything about me. “Astoria, I don't mean—”

“I knew it! That time we made love... You started to shout someone else’s name. I thought it was just a coincidence or an accident or something, but…” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Did you fake our whole relationship? Did you ever love me? Did you even want me in the first place? Or was I always just a second choice?”

I sighed. Good job, Draco. “Astoria—”

“I thought—I thought we loved each other. I thought I was the only one for you. I thought that you asked me to marry you because we were meant for each other.”

I raised my voice above hers. I needed to end this before it got out of hand. “Astoria, remember this, I never asked for your hand in marriage.”

Her tear filled eyes looked down at the ground. “I know that.”

“Then you realize that I had no part in choosing who I wanted marry.”

“I do.”

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. “Our marriage was arranged. I had absolutely no say in it. Neither one of us did. This whole marriage was our parents doing. Two high class, pure-blood, Slytherin bred wizarding families participating in a merger to create more heirs for both sides. That’s what this whole relationship is.”

I see something in her eyes that I have never seen before. Her expression is cold. “It may not have been real for you, Draco. But it was real for me. I loved you. I still do. And I always will. And when you get over this phase, please come back to me.” She walks over to the fireplace. 

“Astoria, wait—”

“I _will_ wait for you. For forever if I have to.”

"Please don't," I mutter.

She flooed out, leaving me stunned. I rubbed my face with my hand. I need to have a conversation with Blaise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways I'm writing the 4th chapter right now so it'll be up soon probably. Today or tomorrow.  
> Again, I wrote this in 2015 and while I did try to fix some of my tensing issues and other errors or whatever, I probably missed some. I might go back and fix them if I get bored (which I probably will) but idk. We'll see.  
> I'm not gonna edit the FFN version tho. Too much work for that son.


	4. Hermione

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote like half this chapter back in 2015 and its been sitting in my hard drive since then. I am not very good at editing my work to make it less awkward and clunky, but the new stuff I added I’m pretty proud of. Anyways, what I’m saying is you’ll probably be able to tell the difference between 20 year old me’s writing and 25 year old me’s writing.   
> Also, it’s been a HOT minute since I’ve flexed ye olde writing muscles. I’ve forgotten how much I liked it.

_Wrong. Wrong, wrong! This is all so wrong!! I can’t be thinking about..._ him _again. Can’t be dreaming about_ him _again. He shouldn’t be the one in my dreams. This is so illogical. What on earth do I even see in him? Wait, who said I saw anything in him in the first place? Well, do I see anything in him? No. All I see is a selfish, arrogant prat. At least, that’s what I want to see. That’s what I should see. Isn’t it? Shouldn’t I be seeing the bully and tormentor during my Hogwarts years? The Death Eater who was told to kill Dumbledore—who almost did?_

_But I don’t… I don’t see him like that anymore…_

_I can’t see him any way else than the beautiful, sweet, kind, adorable, nervous, sexy—_

“Hermione. Have you been listening to me at all?”

“Wh—what? Oh, of course, Gin. I’m listening.”

“Oh really?” She crossed her arms. “What did I just say?”

I racked my brain. After the incident at the Office, I cooped myself up in my apartment for a few days trying to process everything that had happened. Harry had taken Ginny on a weekend getaway so I wasn’t able to talk to Ginny about any of this. As soon as I heard that they had returned, I went straight to the Burrow. The change of scenery was much needed and Ginny’s company always makes me feel so much better. Having not been able to find my parents after the war ended, I was very glad to have her as my family. And I really needed to start maintaining my focus better like I used to. 

“Well… You were talking about you and Harry moving in together, right? I’m so happy for you two.”

The red head rolled her eyes. “That was twenty minutes ago, Hermione. What’s gotten into you?”

“I don’t know. Remember how I told you about the interview I had to conduct? About a former Death Eater wanting to become an Auror?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, said Death Eater decided to confess his undying love for me in said interview.”

She looked at me incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”

We passed a few minutes in silence.

Her eyes widened. “Who was it?”

I shook my head. “I’m not at liberty to say. Shacklebolt told me not to say anything about it. You shouldn’t even know what you know already. And, I’m sorry Gin, but you can’t even tell this to Harry. He’s too close to Shacklebolt and you know how he says some things without pausing to think for a moment about how it could affect others lives or their mental state or their livelihoods. I finally have my dream job, Gin and to lose it all because some… some _boy_ making declarations of love has got my head in a twist—”

“Hermione, stop. You’re starting to go off on another rant. You know that everything you tell me stays with me, right? I would never betray your trust.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “You know that right?”

I looked down and nodded. “I know. I’m just really…stressed and confused, I guess.”

“Why are you confused then? Do you have feelings for him too?”

I shook my head without hesitation. “I don’t. Not an inkling of anything. I can’t. I shouldn’t. I hate him. And he hates me. That’s how it should be.”

She muttered. “Well obviously, he doesn’t hate you anymore, does he? People can change ‘Mione. Ron—” I cringe at the mention of his name. I don’t feel anything for him anymore but it still hurts. “—wasn’t as much of a prat when you started dating. Well, at least in your perspective. I’ve always thought he was an arrogant prat. But sisters are supposed to find their brothers intolerable. Anyway, my point is that he changed, and for the worse, unfortunately. Maybe Malfoy has changed for the better.”

I sighed. “I guess you’re right— Wait a minute. I never told you his name.”

She looked around nervously. “I just assumed—”

I stood up, becoming defensive. I was basically admitting that she was right by getting this way, but I didn’t care anymore. “You can’t just assume things, Ginny. Just because I said—”

“You said that he had always hated you and that you hated him. The only person you legitimately hated in school was Malfoy!”

I was silent for a minute as I sat back down. I had given her too much information already. But she was my best friend. It was okay. Right?

“It’s not okay to assume things, Ginny.”

“But I am right, aren’t I? I can tell. And don’t turn this into another one of your ‘I miss Ronald’ cry sessions. Especially when you keep telling everyone that you don’t have any feelings for him anymore. I know you do. You can’t lie to me.”

That brought me pause. Typically, even the mention of Ron formed a lump in my throat. But now…

“Ginny.” Suddenly, my throat felt dry. “Ginny, I don’t feel anything for Ron now.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”

My pulse quickened in my chest. “I- I don’t think I have feelings for Ron anymore.”

She looked at me quizzically. “This isn’t another one of your attempts at a rebound, is it? I am not in the mood to go to a bar tonight.”

“No, Ginny,” I blinked, “I mean it this time. I haven’t even thought about Ron since the interview the other day.”

“You’re not saying that you might have feelings for--” She grimaced, “ _Malfo_ y?”

“I…” Is that what I was saying? That I had just discovered feelings for Draco of all people? No, that couldn’t have been it. Could it..? “I don’t know.”

“Well,” She sighed, “You could always explore these new feelings with him if you wanted. You know for a fact that he’d accept so it’s not like you have to worry about rejection at all.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m saying you should go for it with Malfoy if you want. Use him as a rebound. He’s obviously got some kind of something over you if you haven’t thought about my bonehead brother in a few days. Might as well see where this train takes you.”

She’s _encouraging_ this? Whatever this is? My mouth fell open to ask her all the questions that started swirling around in my head. Unfortunately, the link from my brain to my speaking ability had short circuited. Was she really suggesting I use Draco’s _love_ for me to my own advantage?

“Oh, stop it, ‘Mione.” She giggled. “You and I both know I only dated Dean because Harry was smitten with Cho.”

From the look on my face, she could tell that I definitely hadn’t known that and her mirth dropped. I hadn’t seen her face this serious since the war. It looked wrong on her soft features. “Look, Hermione. I’m only encouraging this with him because I haven’t been able to have a moment with my best friend since Ron broke your heart. You’re young and beautiful and you have given so much of yourself to so many people. I think it’s about time you take some for yourself. You deserve to treat yourself every now and again. And while finding boys at a bar would be easy for you, I think you want a little more than a one night stand.”

My eyes kept themselves trained on the ground. “I… I don’t know if I could do that.”

Her arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace. “That’s because you’re too nice. Much nicer than me.” Pulling back, she caught my gaze. “You don’t have to. I won’t judge you whatever you decide to do with this whole thing.”

“I don’t want to take advantage of his feelings for me. You didn’t see the look on his face when he said what he said. He _truly_ cares for me. I can’t just exploit that.” I let out a defeated breath. “I’ll just have to keep this to myself until I figure out what’s going on in my head.”

“Whatever you say, ‘Mione.” Ginny leaned back on the couch and sighed.

We sat in pensive silence for a few minutes before Ginny popped up off the couch. “I’m hungry. What do you want for dinner?”

“Hmm… We could try that new restaurant down in Diagon Alley? I’ve heard they have magical sushi. I’ve been wondering what that would taste like.”

“Let’s do it!” She grabbed my hand and yanked me towards the fireplace.

I can’t help but smile. I am so lucky to have such an amazing best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured out the direction I want this story to go so I have an outline for about 10 chapters. I have a feeling some of them might get too long so I might split them up. I’m so excited to finally get to finish this story. It’s been in the back of my head for 5 whole years so I'm super stoked to finally finish my first multi-chapter fic.  
> Please leave me some ideas and I may incorporate them into this story! (Also please let me know if anything didn't make sense or needs clarification. I love me some constructive criticism. That's the only way we get better, right?)


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